Alembic Guitars Club
Connecting => Miscellaneous => Topic started by: Philip-M-Bass on August 28, 2018, 09:18:50 AM
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I suppose some will like this ! :)
Vid is available in HD click the gear at bottom of screen and select 1080p
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Wow !
It's Dragon Bass !
The bass is marked as 78' #999 in my archives. (SN #1000 is Peggy, and #995 has 6 Hat knobs, 3 pointed knobs and 7 Sw !).
These basses have quite unusual spec. I think these are the experimentel specs for innovation.
But the PUs on the rail has been adopted #001.
Very interested !
Eiji
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Yes indeed Eiji-San,
Innovation !
Once I picked my jaw up off the floor ,
I watched it around 5 times !
I usually say "eye candy" but this is more like a 7 course meal !
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Interesting, they say '75 - '76 vintage... did it just take until 1978 to complete? I wouldn't be surprised by that, especially given the super-custom nature, it's just that I had always assumed Jimmy J's #76-418 to be the alpha-fiver. Perhaps they all began about the same time and his hatched first?
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Edward,
Sir, I wish I had as much Knowledge of Alembic history as you do,
Thanks for putting up with us "under-class men" :D
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Edward,
Sir, I wish I had as much Knowledge of Alembic history as you do,
Thanks for putting up with us "under-class men" :D
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Must have hit the wrong button ,
Did not mean to post the last one twice !
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I don't know much of anything that I didn't learn by reading about them here, acoustic1... hence the question. ;)
(FWIW, Eiji-san is the one with the encyclopedic knowledge, quite literally)
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You are too modest ,
many thanks,
Sorry , My name is Philip,
Need to change my club name !
I still think of that time we were searching for the identity of that Honer Black Widow Bass !
have a good evening Sir !
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Very cool! I think we've got some threads on this bass somewhere on the board. Thanks for letting us know about the video.
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Not at all Sir ,
You da best Dave !
My searches turn up some very interesting stuff at times !
Oh yea , I was able to change my username ! Much easier than I thought !
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it's beautiful but with all that purpleheart it must weigh a ton! must've been hell on the tools too...
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I have known about this instrument since the fellow whose original dream it was asked Alembic to have it built .I knew him since the early 1970s when I purchased two Guild Starfire bass's ( can be seen in show case section) from him and a pair of Alembic A15 infinite baffle speaker cabinets with JBL speakers ( like in the Wall of Sound , but just a little smaller ) Over the years we traded back and forth various bass items of interest including an Alembic IN-2 that I repaired ( not for sale ). Very sadly he passed away not that long ago . As per the narrative in this video he was indeed a bass player who played in several pit orchestras in San Francisco including the orchestra in the early production of " Beach Blanket Babylon " _____ We lost track of each other for sometime including a period of time that he endured and suffered life changing injuries in a tragic industrial accident . This person was a real dreamer and thinker with a really KIND heart . I was really surprised and pleased to have regained communications with him during the last decade or so of his life and will miss the technical bass gear conversations with him . I was very sad when he passed away .
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I've always loved this bass. Thanks for sharing your insight into the story behind the bass.
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I have always admired this bass! While watching the video I had to keep rewinding as he flipped the bass over. I just LOVE how thick this bass is. I really like a thick bass. My Series II is a thick one too. The bass looks to have low action, but just look how high the bridge is!
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I would also like to say a bit of thanks for the "First Hand" Info !
And for your memories, as painful as they are !
Many thanks Sonicus !
Also Dela217
for the great screen capture !
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I've had the privilege of working on this bass. It is truly amazingly ponderously heavy-definitely a seated-only playing experience. Here's the pics I took while it was in my shop.
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:) :) :) :) WOW , Thanks ;D
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Thanks for posting Kent. Great pictures of a classic. Thanks also to Wolf for his recollections.
Wow, what a huge mass of purpleheart and ebony that monster is. The neck heel is huge! I can also see now why the bridge had to be so high and the neck's draft angle so steep- to clear the sliding pickup assembly.
Another observation... just like #72-001, with its relief-carved back, the electronics of this one are front-mounted on a wood plate, leaving the back wide open as palette for some pretty amazing artistry. It's also shaped somewhat like the Casady bass.
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Gregory you have a good eye ! Your observations support what my friend who ask for this build told me . He told me that this bass was inspired from what he saw on the "Casady Bass" 72-001 . In deed that is what he told me .
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That really is a masterpiece of craftsmanship.
Bonus points to Ron for how he brought the rail system all the way back through the bridge. 8)
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I can see now, there is a backplate... it's continuous wood too, and one of the dragon's feet overlaps it. What a fascinating bass.
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In the event anyone is interested,
(Doug Irwin and Thomas Lieber)
Same style Dragon inlay !
https://www.rukind.com/viewtopic.php?t=5927&start=30
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That's quite a thread...almost a sweater ;D
thanks !!
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Thank you as well kind Sir,
kinda knew this vid would turn into "the talk of the town" as it were !
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This quote from the thread stood out...
"Doug gave me a bunch of the wood cut from Tiger's hippie sandwich.
I made pipes from the wood and gave them to friends and family members.
Wonder where all those Tiger pipes are today!!"
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I have played both of these Doug Irwin Bass's at the original owners home ( Phil Saam) when he was still with us .
He also introduced me to Doug Irwin who later did some custom work for me on both of my Guild Starfire bass's that I had previously purchased from him . Phil Saam also introduced me to George Mundy who did some custom electronic work for me as well on one of my Starfire bass's ( I sold that in 1978 ,it can be found on this site ) I still own the other one . This was all about the same time as Mr.Lesh was getting work done on his as well by Mr.Mundy . I was really young at the time and full of questions . I was fortunate that both Doug ,and George enjoyed explaining and informing inquisitive minds . The same is true for everyone that I encountered at the old Alembic location on 60 Brady St. Everyone was kind to the KID with 20 questions and they always invited me to show up anytime with more questions . I have been an Alembic customer since I had a brass bridge with block and tail piece installed on the Starfire that I kept. That was about 1974 .
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I so appreciate that this group allows us to join in the heritage/legacy of Alembic. What a great benefit from club membership.
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. Oops, never mind....